Gradually reducing the 'unlistened CD' pile, one album at a time. Thoughts,that sort of thing.

Saturday, 16 January 2010

Dec. 20th: I read a magazine that said, 'by 17, your life is at an end'

Charlotte Gainsbourg-5:55 (Because Music, 2006)

Charlotte Gainsbourg is the daughter of Serge and Jane Birkin. Her first recording was called 'Lemon Incest'. A duet with her father. Cue controversy.5:55 is her first LP as an adult, and is mostly written by Gainsbourg fans Air, with input from Neil Hannon,Jarvis Cocker, and Nigel Godrich, amongst others. All but one track is in English.
If Gainsbourg was attempting to make something distinct from the work of her parents, she pretty much fails: she sings with the same enunciated delivery as her mother, and the songs sound like Serge album tracks, particularly the swirling string arrangements. It makes the listening experience slightly unnerving; the material is unknown but also feels very familiar. This could easily have been released in 1971.
That's not to say the album is a failure. It's a pretty good album, particulary the single 'Songs That We Sing'. It's perfectly competent; I just can't shake the feeling that I'm listening to a Jane 'n' Serge duets album from the 70s.I really can't,